Bosh suffers ab injury, status unknown

Heat center Chris Bosh missed the second half of the opening game of Miami’s Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday because of what the team called a lower abdominal injury.

Bosh was scheduled for an MRI to determine the extent of the problem.

“He was in a little bit of pain going into the locker room,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We won’t know until we get an MRI.”

Ronny Turiaf started the second half in Bosh’s place. Joel Anthony and Turiaf combined got 13 points and 10 rebounds on 6-for-8 shooting for the Heat, who took Game 1 of the series 95-86.

“Hopefully (today) we get good news,” Dwyane Wade said. “We all just want to make sure Chris is healthy. So that’s all we know right now. Our brother is going to go to see if he can get back out there and play with us. If not, then we’ve got to have someone step up very big. You can’t fill Chris Bosh’s shoes, but you can have a few guys step up.”

Bosh scored 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting in the first half, the last three of those points coming with 1:06 left after a dunk while getting fouled by Indiana’s Roy Hibbert. Bosh remained down for a few moments, then got up slowly and made his free throw.

Irving reportedly top rookie: A person familiar with the voting says Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving has been chosen the NBA’s Rookie of the Year.

Irving’s selection isn’t a surprise since he led all first-year players in scoring and renewed hope for Cleveland’s franchise. He’ll receive the award on Tuesday, said the person who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league has not yet announced the winner.

ESPN.com and the Plain Dealer of Cleveland first reported the win for Irving, joining LeBron James as the only Cavs to earn the award.